In honor of Halloween, we’re looking at the three scariest Cavs players.
The Cavs have started off the season 3-3 heading into their game against the Phoenix Suns on Halloween Eve. They’ve started off the season as one of the more dangerous and multi-faceted teams in the league so far. While they need to be tested more in the coming weeks to figure out what they may need more of, they are finally looking like a team with a real and solid core group of guys.
The team has really found their rhythm with a starting lineup that includes three seven-foot players playing inside-outside. Despite not being as quick as some other teams on occasion, the seven-foot trio has really shown themselves to be a force that other teams can’t deny. Jarrett Allen, Lauri Markkanen, and Evan Mobley have all shown their defensive and offensive abilities at different points in the season.
If they can figure out how to execute on both sides of the court all season long and at the same time as one another, then this team may be a real playoff contender.
They’re not the only ones who have struck fear into opposing teams, as two former wolves have done just that as well with Ricky Rubio tormenting opposing players on both sides of the court, and a resurrected Kevin Love showing that he still has something left in the tank, even with all the injuries that he’s suffered.
Not everyone mentioned made the list, as we’re talking just the three scariest players on the squad and not every scary player.
Collin Sexton
A 6’1 guard may not be the most intimidating guy on the court, admittedly, but if you’re trying to guard Collin Sexton, you know exactly how all of those horror movie victims feel. The man called Young Bull is also called a “walking bucket” and that’s very accurate; for the most part. He’s someone the Cavs can rely on to get points and someone the opposing defenses has to worry about.
The horror factor he brings to the table isn’t the most obvious thing but it is something many men in the NBA have had to suffer. For a guard of his size, the last thing you’d expect for him to do is challenge the giants of the league, and yet that is exactly what he does. He likes to work inside and get his points in the paint.
You could say that Sexton plays the game like a crazy Gremlin, constantly running around his larger foes, making shots that ruin the days of other people. He’s nearly manic on the court and doesn’t seem to care about himself or those he’s starring down. Unlike a Gremlin, however, you can in fact feed Sexton after midnight.
Isaac Okoro
Some may argue that the scariest thing about Isaac Okoro is his scoring abilities or lack thereof. You’d be correct there, that is a horrifying sight to behold. Yet, his lack of offense may make him the Invisible Man, but his defense makes him the Wolf Man. Like the Wolf Man, Okoro isn’t someone you can just ignore. Defensively he has no true weakness.
He’ll give up some buckets, the game is not kind to defensive players, but when you see him transform from this timid offensive player to this more aggressive defensive dynamo, you may end up seeing just how capable he is at causing damage.
Okoro has garnered praise for his defensive prowess and while he lost his starting spot to Lauri Markkanen, the team’s resident monster of Frankenstein, Okoro has still found a home on the bench.
Moving in Markkanen made sense because like Frankstein’s monster, the Cavs are experimenting with the big Finnish forward at small forward and it seems to be going well. So the odds that Okoro gets back into the starting lineup for any reason other than injury aren’t great, Okoro can at least use the extra energy he has as a bench player to stock and assault the opposing team’s best scorers.
Jarrett Allen
Jarrett Allen is Godzilla in the low post, we already know this. His ability to wreak havoc on opposing teams is becoming the stuff of nightmares for many opposing teams. His +5.1 on the RAPTOR scale is only second to Evan Mobley’s +6.0. The defense that Allen’s provided has been impressive and game-altering.
The Cavs may only be 3-3 at the moment but the team is doing good work and really challenging, unlike past seasons. A lot of that has to do with Allen’s ability to get in the face of opposing ball-handlers and make them commit. Commit to coming after Allen, and possibly getting put on your rear, or commit to proving to everyone that Allen scares you.
Allen is soft-spoken and friendly but when you go in on him, he comes swiping at the ball like Godzilla trying to take down one of those other chump-ass monsters who’s looking for a beating. Allen has been a steady force since arriving in Cleveland and if the Cavs make the playoffs in 2022, it’s going to be in part due to Allen.
Offensively he’s an extremely accurate shooter from within close and if he’s able to develop a three-point shot, that may be all he needs to prove whatever doubters he has left wrong.